Wild Card Round Winners Score Breeders Invitational Derby Open Championship

Twenty-two competitors walked to the herd during the Derby Open finals at the Breeders Invitational (BI), held May 18 at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When it was all said and done, one horse-and-rider team, Hottie Rey Von and Tag Rice, came out on top with a 225, winning the Championship and $60,173.

The duo’s big run was the peak of a rollercoaster of emotions during the event. They started off by marking a 221 in the first go, then scored a 215.5 in the second, which put them half a point short of the 437 bubble needed to advance to the finals. They were, however, able to make the Wild Card round, where they scored a winning 228, giving them the shot at the finals they were hoping for.

“We had a little trouble on our second go — a cow randomly ran out of the herd for some reason —and it kind of messed us up, but we still had enough points to get into the Wild Card and had a really good run there,” Rice said. “It kind of set us up to go first in the finals, and we got to cut the pick of the cows in the herd. She was really good and had a good run. She’s been one of my personal favorites of all time, and I was really happy to get a championship on her.”

Hottie Rey Von (Stevie Rey Von x Some Like It Hott x Spots Hot) is owned by the EquiStat Elite $4 Million Rider’s brother, Scotty Rice, who bought the mare from her breeder, Fults Ranch Ltd., at the 2021 Fults Ranch Absolute Reduction Sale. Rice only rides for Scotty now and said they work well together as a team.

“We’ve been trying to build this program, and it’s coming around really good,” Rice said. “We have some really good horses. He’s built us an outstanding facility to train out of. It’s very exciting and great for our program.”

Scotty and the mare were Reserve in the 4-Year-Old Non-Pro at the 2024 Super Stakes, and his wife, Caitlin, made the Derby Non-Pro finals with her at the Breeders Invitational. Rice said the plan was to keep taking her to big events, as she gives them all a lot of confidence when showing her. He thanked Scotty and Caitlin for putting him on good horses, along with his help in the show pen: Grant Setnicka, Lloyd Cox, Tarin Rice and Eddie Flynn.